Council Rock-South 44, Bensalem 42

Council Rock-South (44)
Chelsea Allen 3 1-2 7; Ann Silverthorn 2 1-2 7; Lea Britton 0 0-1 0; Emily Nowicke 5 1-4 11; Alex Wheatley 6 4-7 16; Steph Gillio 1 0-1 3; Jackie Weber 0 0-0 0; Lindsay Kirlin 0 0-0 0; Brianna Schlupp 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 7-17 44.

Bensalem (42)
Kate Clarkson 4 0-0 9; Paige Ormont 1 0-0 2; Kristen Gilroy 1 1-2 4; Sharmane Hall 3 3-7 9; Jackie Deegler 4 8-8 16; Alexis Nyekan 1 0-0 2; Alexia Ewing 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 12-17 42.

CRS: 12-7-15-10—44
B: 9-11-7-15—42

Three-point goals: Silverthorn 2, Gillio (CRS); Clarkson, Gilroy (B).

TEN THINGS

1. Council Rock-South (10-6 overall, 5-4 SOL National) opened up the second half with an 11-2 run and built a nine-point lead, 34-25, late in the third quarter. Senior guard Ann Silverthorn hit a pair of 3-pointers in less than a minute early in the quarter to spark that run. But Bensalem (9-5, 6-3) came back in the fourth quarter and finally tied the game, 42-42, with 48 seconds left on a 12-foot jump shot by Kate Clarkson. Golden Hawks freshman center Alex Wheatley hit a game-winning free throw with nine seconds left. CR-South's Chelsea Allen made a steal on the other end with 1.6 seconds left and hit a free throw to seal the win.

2. The 6-foot-2 Wheatley had a monster game, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds, five blocked shots, four steals and three assists. She also helped double-team tough Bensalem forward Sharmane Hall on the defensive end.

3. “This was so big. It’s a major high for the team,” Wheatley said. “I think this will really help us be ready for the rest of the season.”

4. “I think Alex is coming along,” CR-South coach Monica Young said. “She has a great work ethic. Sometimes she has to be more offensive minded.”

5. Forward Emily Nowicke had 11 points and six rebounds for CR-South, while Allen added seven points and nine rebounds. “It’s a huge win,” Nowicke said. “We’re going to make this into more than just one win. We’re going to use this momentum.”

6. The 1.6 seconds left on the clock near the end was significant because it was the same amount of time left in CR-South's heartbreaking last-second loss to Neshaminy on Tuesday. "I think the Neshaminy game pumped us up," Wheatley said.

7. CR-South has doubled its win total from last season. "We have come full circle," Nowicke said. "And we have much better things ahead."

8. Senior Jackie Deegler scored 16 points for Bensalem, and Clarkson had nine points. Hall finished with nine points and 12 rebounds.

9. “(Hall) is a strong player. She’s a presence in the post,” Wheatley said. “We couldn’t have done it without double-teaming her almost every time.”

10. Young is impressed with the way her team bounced back from the crushing Neshaminy loss. "I told the girls, 'This will show what kind of character you have as a team,'" Young said. "They showed me that they really have character. They showed up to play on Wednesday (against Pennsbury). I was really proud of them."

Neshaminy 47, CR-South 46

Neshaminy (47)
Brianna Hires 3 1-3 9; Avery Wunder 5 1-2 13; Chelsea Rota 1 0-0 2; Brianna Weiler 1 1-2 3; Kelsey Ryan 7 0-3 14; Jennifer Slivka 0 0-0 0; Victoria Mazzeo 0 0-0 0; Amanda Lally 2 0-0 6. Totals: 19 3-10 47.

Council Rock-South (46)
Alex Wheatley 2 2-2 6; Emily Nowicke 6 4-6 16; Lea Britton 3 1-3 7; Ann Silverthorn 2 0-1 4; Chelsea Allen 5 1-2 11; Lindsay Kirlin 0 2-2 2; Steph Gillio 0 0-0 0; Brianna Schlupp 0 0-0 0; Jackie Weber 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 10-16 46.

N: 20-5-9-13—47
CRS: 12-4-16-14—46

Three-point goals: Wunder 2, Hires 2, Lally 2 (N).

TEN THINGS

1. Down one point with 1.6 seconds on the clock and with the ball under its own basket, Neshaminy didn’t have many options. The Redskins tried to inbound the ball to forward Kelsey Ryan, but the ball sailed over Ryan’s head and started bouncing towards the far end of the floor. Everyone figured it would go out of bounds and pretty much end the game. But Redskins guard Brianna Hires kept running and finally caught up with the ball right under the basket. In one motion she grabbed the ball, arched her back to get an angle and threw a shot up, off the backboard. Game over. Neshaminy wins. Incredible.

2. “I really didn’t think I was going to get to it,” Hires said. “I just kind of put it up and hoped for the best.”

3. “(Hires) doesn’t quit,” Redskins coach Joanne McVey said. “A lot of people would have stood there and watched that ball and it would have gone out of bounds. Not only did she get to the ball, she made a really tough shot.”

4. CR-South (8-6 overall, 3-4 SOL National) had taken a three-point lead, 46-43, on a drive by junior guard Lea Britton with 24.3 seconds left and a pair of foul shots by freshman forward Alex Wheatley with 16.5 seconds to go.

5. CR-South made up a nine-point deficit in the third quarter. Forwards Emily Nowicke and Chelsea Allen dominated that quarter, scoring 14 of the team's 16 points. They scored every point in a 10-0 run that turned a 29-20 deficit into a 30-29 lead. From 6:25 of the third quarter to 2:25 of the fourth, Nowicke scored 13 points and Allen scored nine points.

6. Neshaminy (8-7, 5-4) scored 20 points in the first quarter, including three 3-pointers in the first six minutes.

7. Ryan finished with 14 points and six rebounds for the Redskins. Point guard Avery Wunder had 13 points and five assists. Hires had nine points.

8. Nowicke scored 16 points for CR-South, and Allen finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Britton added seven points and seven assists.

9. “We had a really strong third quarter. The game was ours. But we have to learn how to finish," CR-South coach Monica Young said.

10. “This is huge. This is a game the whole team really wanted to win,” Hires said. “We were thinking that the game was probably over. But you can’t give up. You have to keep playing until the buzzer goes.”